Portuguese man-o'-war

Portuguese men-o'-war were creatures that bore a distinct physical resemblance to the Oswaft, given both species' shared attributes of tentacular ribbons hanging from their ventral sides and the perfect glassy transparency, with hints and flashes of inner color, of their bodies.

"He was large for a young adult, although there were Elders of his species twice his size and mass. An alien observer in a different place and time would have pointed out his resemblance to an enormous manta ray-broad and streamlined, powerfully winged, and somehow pleasingly sinister. His sleek dorsal surface was domed high with muscle. Others would have been reminded of the Portuguese man-o'-war, seeing the spectacular ribbons hanging from his ventral side, marveling at the perfect glassy transparency of his body with its hints and flashes of inner color."